Problem: Solve the equation. $\dfrac14=\dfrac y{12}$ $y= $
Answer: Let's multiply to get $y$ by itself. $\begin{aligned}\dfrac14&=\dfrac y{12}\\ \\ \dfrac14\cdot{{12}}&=\dfrac{y}{12}\cdot{{12}} ~~~~~~~\text{multiply each side by } {12} \text{ to get } y \text{ by itself }\\ \\ \dfrac14\cdot{{12}}&=\dfrac{y}{\cancel{12}}\cdot{\cancel{{12}}} \\ \\ \dfrac14\cdot{{12}}&=y \\\\ \dfrac{{12}}4&=y \end{aligned}$ The answer: $y={3}$ Let's check to make sure. $\begin{aligned} \dfrac14&=\dfrac y{12} \\\\ \dfrac14&=\dfrac{{3}}{12} \\\\ \dfrac14 &= \dfrac14 ~~~~~~~~~~\text{Yes!} \end{aligned}$